Smallholder farming in Eastern Zambia is susceptible to climate variability and characterised by low productivity, low household incomes, food insecurity, and low levels of environmental stewardship. This study explores how such farming might be transformed through the integration of climate-resilient and sustainable farming practices towards the achievement of sustainable and equitable food systems.
An exploratory, sequential mixed-method approach is being used for the collection of qualitative data, followed by quantitative data collection. The study adopts a novel approach, Social Learning Labs, to support key stakeholder discussions on how climate resilience could be increased in smallholder production and how biophysical, socio-cultural, economic, and political institutional challenges could be addressed in the process. This approach is complemented by a quantitative household survey, using a representative sample, to provide a cross-sectional understanding of factors that impinge on sustainable agricultural intensification and the achievement of climate resilience.
The results of the study will be a useful contribution to scholarly knowledge about smallholder agricultural transformation and achieving progress on the United Nations sustainable development goals of ending hunger, climate action, gender equality, and sustainable production.
